1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a portioning apparatus and a method for portioning flowable materials. More particularly, the invention relates to a machine for the portioning of flowable materials, such as flowable food, and a method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In certain industries, such as the food processing industry, portioning machines are used to portion flowable products. Flowable products include meat patties, flaked or shredded meat, fish, chicken, etc. In a portioning machine, there is a supply hopper which is fed with flowable material. An auger pushes the flowable material out a small opening to fill a mold. In the case of hamburger patties, the molds have a hollow flat cylindrical cavity in which the hamburger meat is filled. After the cavity is filled, the mold is moved underneath a knockout which knocks out the hamburger meat in the cavity to a conveyor belt below, in a knockout stroke. The combined process of filling and knocking out takes place in one mold stroke.
Current portioning machines have only one knockout stroke per mold stroke. In other words, the hamburger mold is filled in one step and in a subsequent separate step, the hamburger patty is knocked out. Such portioning machines typically run at a certain level of knockout strokes per minute. To increase the amount of knockout strokes, however, prohibitively high mechanical and hydraulic costs are required. Therefore, a scheme for increasing the knockout rate, and hence, increase product output, without high implementation and maintenance costs is desired.